We
would like to see a safe passage for cyclists on the E-W / W-E corridor
from the West towards Central London, and out again. Most of the planning
for cyclists has been to get them into the complex. Westfield has taken
the stance that the carriageway around Shepherds Bush Green is not suitable
for cyclists. Indeed the area just to the west of the Central Line station
/ West12 Centre is particularly difficult, and has not been improved
in any way.

There
is a lovely new Toucan crossing across the northern arm [A3220] of the
Holland Park Roundabout , but no indications on how to get to it, and
one is expected to get off the carriageway of the Uxbridge rd through
people who may be waiting at a crossing.

It will occasionally
be necessary to provide a transition from on-carriageway cycle lanes
to off-carriageway cycle tracks and vice versa. This transition should
be clear, smooth, safe and comfortable for cyclists. Minimum speed change
and vertical and/or horizontal deviation for cyclists should be the
objective. Drawing CCE/C4 shows a typical detail for this situation.

The Westfield
Cycling Strategy calls for cycle routes linking in with the local cycle
network.

The London
Cycling Design Standards at Chapter 4 states that a cycle track
should have an edge strip at least 0.5m between the kerb and the track
when the track faces on-coming traffic. This track on the Eastern Access
rd looks particularly ridiculous and dangerous if anyone is naive enough
to follow it.

Edge Strips
/ 4.4.37

In order
to provide safe clearance between cyclists and motor traffic passing
on an adjacent carriageway an edge strip at least 0.5m wide should normally
be provided. This is particularly important where cyclists on the outside
of the track are facing oncoming motor traffic.

Westfield are very proud of
their valet parking.

And no better
way of telling everyone than by slapping a post in the middle of the
cycle track.

The Design
Manual for Streets at s7.5 discusses Stopping Sight Distance. They
would like a driver to be able to stop inside the distance corresponding
to his or her reaction time should anything untoward happen. Will they
do anything about this spot on Ariel Way before there is a casualty?

The authorities
that look after big roads seem to be a bit more concerned about the
safety of pedestrians and cyclists. This is an image of the crossing
on the bridge over A3220 leading towards the Edward Woods Estate and
North Kensington, taken from the top of the lifts on the Eastern Access
rd, looking east.

Sight-line obstructions
have been given as the reason for not opening this route. This may be
the sight-line obstruction of the wall on the right, or on the other
side where one suddenly emerges from behind a wall and is thrust onto
the crossing. This route will not be opened for quite a while, September
2009 at the earliest.

Not only is
this delay a problem in itself, but LBHF may see it as a reason to delay
sorting out problems along Ariel Way and the Eastern Access road through
Westfield.

Chris Bainbridge,
who is head of Transport Planning for LBHF, has stated it was important
to see how the area is being used before rushing into changes which
may not be appropriate. And we will not know how it is being used until
the route over the bridge is open.

I am very pleased to hear from Dion Hallett that a ramp is about to
be constructed to take cyclists off the eastbound Uxbridge road to lead
them towards Westfield and the excellent Toucan on the northern arm
of the Holland Park roundabout. We have been pressing for this for over
a year. When this has happened it would be good to promote this new
feature which would encourage people to cycle who may have been scared
of tackling the Holland Park roundabout.

However there are several problems that remain with Westfield and these
should be resolved as soon as possible. Some of these can be seen at
http://www.hfcyclists.org.uk/SBGnow.htm .

There is also a new problem emerging, which is how the arrangement on
the far side of the bridge over the A3220 leading to the Edward Woods
Estate will deal with cyclists and pedestrians. It is like a hairpin
alpine descent and should be looked at to see if it can be made more
suitable for its intended use. The bridge may open sometime like October
perhaps.

There may also be a need in the future for more cycle parking at the
south east entrance to Westfield by the Central line and main line stations.

Some parts of
this are pleasing, some are less so. The section concerning the bridge
over the A3220 is particularly alarming as it would appear to indicate
that the Council is not prepared to look at the safety implications
of the access on the eastern side of the bridge until after the bridge
was opened and the access ramp was in use.

Bridge over A3220

As you know TfL have yet to make the necessary alterations
to the crossing facilities at this junction before they will open it
to the public. The Council have asked TfL to make these changes as soon
as possible, however we would not want to rush the opening of this essential
link before the safety needs of its users has been fully addressed.

As you will know the step/ramp structure gaining access
to the Edward Woods Estate was built many years ago to an entirely different
set of standards. Upon the opening of the crossing facilities, officers
will make the necessary investigations into what alterations need to
be carried out.

The above was
written as a draft by an officer in Highways and signed by Cllr Nick
Botterill. Nick later qualified this in an email dated 1 Sept 2009

John

I will discuss this with Chris Bainbridge. As you are
probably aware the agreements made with Westfield some years ago were
not as robust as would be desirable. However this is no excuse for any
safety issues not being looked into. I would ask that you make sure
Chris is aware exactly of the issues you are raising and where possible
we will seek to ensure that cyclists get a fair deal.

Regards.

Nick

On 5 September
we organised a site visit to look at the steps / ramp in question.